We Go By Moments & Days
by letschangetheworld
Summary: A chain of Jay/Theresa drabbles, one-shots if you will, with hints of other relationships. First story.
1. Denial Isn’t Just A River

My first "story", please be gentle with me. Constructive criticism only, if you pleeease. Every one shot is different, and may not pertain to the previous one, or the following one. Rated M for a reason, but that's probably later on in the chapters and I apologize for overusing the terms 'he' and 'she'. Also, the characters are probably very outside what you see on tv; this is a show for 8-12 year olds or something, but I'mma twist it around.

I do not own any of this, sadly enough. I wish I owned a human version of Jay, though.

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01. Denial Isn't Just A River

She was just so strong, so independent, so driven. Jay's head tilted to the side just slightly, his open textbook temporarily forgotten on the desk in front of him. A smile graced his slightly tanned face as he watched her bend over her binder a little more, the ponytail containing her fiery red hair falling forward and brushing her creamy cheek; Theresa was evidently having a very difficult time with whatever school work she was staring down at.

"Gawk a little harder at her, and you could quite possibly burn a hole straight through her. Which _might_ be messy."

Jay's head whipped around so fast he could swear he heard a faint crack; Archie was gazing at him from across the table, giving Jay a patient yet clearly amused look. "I, I wasn't staring at her," Jay stammered, looking firmly down at his math textbook now and ignoring the sniggers from the other burly young man next to him, whose face was buried in a Sport's Illustrated.

"Why don't you go help her?" Archie asked curiously, watching Jay peek over at the redhead again. "Theresa's always struggled with math, and may I remind everybody at his table who has a eighty something in Pre Calculus?" He smiled in satisfaction when he noticed Jay was now inspecting his English essay; Archie could almost see the little gears whirling around in Jay's head; to leave it or not to leave it. "C'mon man, help her. Clearly you like her any - "

"I don't!" Jay exploded, looking up at Archie harshly. "I don't like her, I don't. So shut up and do your work, alright?" He waved a hand vaguely at Archie's open school work. "She'll be fine," Jay added as he stood up, slamming his textbook shut and grabbing his notebook. "I'll see you guys later."

Herry peeked his face up from his magazine just in time to see Jay's retreating back exit out of the library. Brow furrowed, Hercules's descendent turned back to Archie and went to say something, but Archie had his attention on Theresa now. "Wonder what that's about.." Herry muttered after a moment to the other teen, flipping the page of his magazine and finding a very interesting photo indeed, just as Archie glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you really have to wear that face when you read that? Its like.. its like you're playing with yourself underneath the table," He muttered in utter disgust, eyeing the front cover of the magazine. "Can't you get some of the real thing?"

Herry lowered the magazine, his face reddened from a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. Despite this, he was smiling slightly. "You mean the face that Jay has whenever he sees a certain girl in her nightgown, that certain girl being - OW!"

Archie had spotted Theresa approaching their table, her binder and notebook in her arms and her bag slung over her shoulder. Upon figuring out what Herry was about to say, the purple haired teen had hurled his pencil right at Herry's face, with no hesitation or second of regret.

Herry face tilted upwards to see Theresa stopping at their table, adjusting her books in her arms at the same time. "H-Hey," Herry said in greeting, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead.

"Hi," Theresa began breathlessly, her bright green eyes flying around the room before settling on the two. "I noticed Jay was here earlier, I was hoping to talk to him." She was chewing at her bottom lip, looking between the two edgily.

Archie blanched; why did she want to know where Jay was? "Hoping to talk to him means what, exactly?" Archie boldly questioned, watching as Theresa flushed in the face. Sure, Archie knew Jay liked Theresa a fair bit. It was obviously, as Archie did happen to have a bedroom right next to Jay's, and more than once had he heard the certain red head's name come from that room at night. And more than once did Archie rag on Jay for his incessant dreaming.

"What else does it mean, Arch? I was hoping to have a word with him about something." Theresa tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear and then sighed. "Its okay, I'll see him later at some point." And with that, she twirled on her feet and walked off, leaving the two confused males staring after her.

Archie looked from Theresa to Herry, fixing him with a blank stare before cracking a small grin. "Herry, I do believe that love is very much in the air." He picked up his pencil casually and went to continue, but Herry suddenly let out a low whistle, and Archie looked up again to see a very pleased expression on Herry's face as he lowered his magazine and spun it around. Archie blinked, now being able to check out the page Herry was looking at.

"Arch, my man, imagine Theresa in this bikini."


	2. I Can’t Help It

Okay okay okay. Here we go again. I've decided I'm going to put ten one-shots into this, give or take. This one in particular could've been better, I have to admit. Also, you might've noticed I changed the rating to T; basically just for mild swearing and some spiciness. And reviews are nice!

And I don't own any of this. Damn.

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02. I Can't Help It

Theresa was too busy gazing up at the sky to realize Jay had opened her door and stepped into her room. Her hands were resting on the window sill, and the gentle wind from outside was blowing her hair back from her face. Today they had once again been unable to stop Cronus, and she would be blatantly lying if she said that it wasn't starting to get to her, especially since today was one of the hardest days she had ever experienced. She wanted to forget all of this, forget that she was ever destined to do this. She wanted to forget everything that happened in the past months, but not maybe not every_body_.

"You don't plan on escaping through your window, do you?" Jay asked quietly, announcing his presence and causing the redhead to jump slightly and snap out of her trance. Theresa glanced over her shoulder and quickly shook her head.

"Of course not, there's no tree."

Jay couldn't help but chuckle at this, and walked closer to her, shoving his hands in his pockets. He silently admired how the moonlight seemed to reflect in her green eyes. Those green eyes. They were so expressive, and he could always find out what she was feeling or what she was thinking simply by catching her gaze with his.

"So," He began finally, a little awkwardly, "I was sent up here to find out what you were doing. Apparently Atlanta and Archie want to watch a movie and Neil figured out that we were missing a body.."

"That's a little suspiciously genius for him," The girl commented dryly, before she shook her head lightly at Jay. "Don't worry about it, you guys go ahead and watch your movie."

Jay frowned as he absentmindedly shrugged his left shoulder a little, wincing. The white gauze that surrounded his wound was just visible underneath Jay's shirt when he had moved, and it had caught Theresa's attention immediately. She turned away back towards the window.

Quite unfortunately for Theresa, Jay noted how quickly she had spun away from him the moment he had adjusted his sore shoulder. "It feels better, you know," He felt the need to mention. "It wasn't that deep of a gash, anyways. Cronus barely got a piece of me, you know that." He hoped Theresa would turn around and give him that smile that warmed his insides, not that he would ever admit that. But she didn't, and instead sighed heavily.

"I know, Jay, I know. That's what you said when you were bleeding all over the place." The sarcasm leaked from Theresa's lips. "I'm fine, you're fine, everything is fine."

Staring hard at Theresa's back, Jay watched her slump forward a little on the window sill. He took a deep breath, and then turned towards her door. "Okay, well if you're sure you don't want to watch the movie.." Jay trailed off, hoping she'd change her mind while he was walking to the door. Theresa was silent.

He closed her bedroom door softly behind him, leaning back on it for a moment and closing his eyes. He had just begun to lift himself off the door when Jay heard a half sob, half gasp from behind the wood. Brown eyes widening, Jay turned to the door and flung it open, striding into the bedroom again.

Theresa had turned away from the window, and had slid herself down the wall to curl up against it, her knees pulled tightly to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, hugging them to her body. Her red hair was cascading wildly, creating a curtain around her face that was buried in the valley of her two knees.

"Theresa.."

Once he had the door closed behind him, Jay swiftly approached her, abandoning his leader position, abandoning everything his head was telling him to do. This was not a matter that needed his leader skills, this was a matter that simply needed him. Theresa simply needed him.


	3. Protective

I like this one, and I also like the reviews I'm getting! If you have any really great ideas for a one shot, feel free to speak up. Inspiration is always much appreciated by a writer, I suspect! By the way, today is my birthday, so today basically trumps all days. The end.

PS: not miiiiine.

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03. Protective

Herry leaned back in his chair, lifting his feet and propping them up on the school desk in front of him. Jay shot him a disapproving look, but Herry just gave him a shrug and folded his hands carefully over his stomach. "Biology is a waste of space."

The bulky teen ran his fingers through his hair calmly, glancing around the room and smiling when he saw Theresa enter through the door. She waved slightly at the two boys, and Herry waved pleasantly back while Jay went absolutely scarlet.

"Did you lose your balls or something?" Herry asked Jay curiously.

"Shut up," Jay replied under his breath, bashfully messing up his hair at the same time.

Chuckling to himself, Herry continued to gaze casually around the room. "Maybe we'll have a sub today," He hoped out loud, putting his hands behind his head and sighing happily, closing his eyes as well. Herry had scarcely a moment of relaxation when suddenly Jay's hand very much connected with his abdomen.

A sound exactly like a punching bag being whacked escaped from Herry's mouth, and he bent his knees up slightly. "Holy Hera, you nutcase! What the hell was that for? I know you don't like my feet on things, but really, words are so much - "

"Who is that? Where'd he come from? Do you know his name?" Jay asked over Herry, who stopped and blinked stupidly. "I've never seen him before, he must be new. Herry, who is that? Have you ever seen him before?"

"Who are you even talking about!?" Herry asked Jay loudly, grimacing when several neighboring students looked abruptly over at them. "Sorry," He announced, before lowering his voice and giving Jay a glare. "Quit babbling! What's your deal?"

But with one sweeping look around the room of students ready for the class to begin, Herry knew instantly who Jay was talking about, and why he was looking so damn irritated. Apparently Theresa had previously had a spot next to her empty, but now a young man whom Herry had never seen before in his LIFE was taking it. "Oh dear," Herry began slowly, looking from the two up at the front to Jay. "Who's that?"

"That's what I asked you!" The other boy snapped, exhaling angrily and narrowing his eyes at the back of the newcomer's head. "He looks really suspicious. You think he could be from Cronus? One of his minions in disguise?"

Frowning, Herry sincerely doubted that one of Cronus' giant minions had managed to successfully disguise himself as an alright-looking male student. "Jay, chill out. He's probably a new kid or something. And Theresa looks friendly enough, so he probably headed straight over to her." He eyed his lab partner warily before smirking.

Jay blinked, spinning in his seat. "This is not funny, Herry!" He hissed wildly. "Theresa is in danger from.. from a new student," Jay finished lamely, blushing now.

"We should go save her," Herry whispered fearfully. "He might ask her where his next class is! We can't let that happen!" He clapped both hands to his cheeks in excellent mock horror for a moment, before dropping them and laughing loudly. "Jay, if you don't finally make a move on that girl, I will." After a moment of brief silence between the two at the table:

"Get your feet off the table."

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Next one is going to be fairly spicy. I'm warning you now.


	4. You Make Me Wanna

I probably don't even own this plot as this has been used featuring a number of characters from a number of different stories. But a little sexual tension, I thought, would be perfect! And I might make a smutty smutty version of this. Who knows. Heh.

Warning; this is probably full on T rating, though there are no real mention of anything. And I don't own nothin'.

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04. You Make Me Wanna

Jay did not have a pleasant night sleep. He woke up one Saturday to a flushed body and a racing mind. He was quite positive he was going to need a severely cold shower later in the morning and we're talking seriously cold, turn-your-lips-blue-and-your-skin-freezes type of cold. Archie had always recommended this type of shower after having particularly.. well, R-rated dreams during the night, which apparently was a common thing to Archie. Jay certainly did not even want to divulge into why Archie needed bone-chillingly cold showers, but Jay required one because of much moaning and much clothes being ripped off and much privacy in the Brownstone. Argh.

_Why do we always think with our alternative heads_, Jay thought as he tugged his t-shirt over his head while he exited his room out into the hallway. Just as he cleared the doorway, something bumped into him from behind and he heard a faint, "Oh!"

Twisting, Jay managed to catch a glimpse of fiery auburn hair as Theresa went down, but with surprisingly quick reflexes he swung an arm around and caught her in the lower back, pulling her upright into a somewhat standing position and also causing the petite young woman to fall forward into his chest.

Jay caught his balance easily, and then blinked down at the dazed yet dazzling face that was turned upwards towards him. He effortlessly saw how much skin, not to mention cleavage, he found himself presented with and felt suddenly warm in the face.

"Sorry, I wasn't exactly paying attention," Theresa said breathlessly, realizing now that when Jay had grabbed her, her hands had automatically grasped onto his strong upper arms. Jay's one arm was still around her back, but with a clear of the throat Jay let go.

For the billionth time in his life, Jay bashfully messed up his hair in Theresa's presence. He averted his eyes from her exposing nightgown and shrugged. "Don't worry about it, no harm done. Wanna.. um, go get some food?"

"Always," came the bright response, the awkward moment between them temporarily gone.

They ventured together down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Neil and Atlanta perched at the island, one with a bowl of childishly-advertised cereal and one with a perfectly toasted bagel with cream cheese. Both looked up when Jay and Theresa entered, and greeted them a good morning.

"Where's the rest of you hooligans?" Jay asked, finding himself a bowl and moving towards Atlanta's cereal box. Neil delicately chewed at his bagel and then motioned towards the doorway leading into the living room of the Brownstone.

"Archie and Herry watched horror movies all night and are still going at it, and there is an odd blue haze from under Odie's door." Neil rolled his eyes dramatically. "Does beauty sleep mean nothing to these people?"

Jay chomped slowly at his cereal and glanced over at Neil. "Horror movies all night, huh?" He picked up his bowl before sauntering across the kitchen floor and through the doorway into the living area of the apartment complex.

Both descendents were sound asleep, sprawled across the two couches. It looked as if both had either simply fallen over due to exhaustion or had been clubbed ridiculously hard over the head. The TV was still running, featuring the ending credits of one of the cheesy movies they had been watching. Or had even managed to sleep through.

"They're out cold," Jay laughed, walking back into kitchen and conveniently not noticing how they were missing a body. He shoved the remaining cereal into his mouth and went to the sink. "I'm going to have a shower. We've got training later today, don't forget."

Both groaned loudly, saying various things of disapproval as Jay left the room. Neil was silent for a moment afterwards, before he seemed to remember something and went to get up, but Atlanta caught him by the elbow. "Don't," She muttered, smirking.

The blonde gave her a startled look. "Shouldn't we tell Jay that Theresa went up to have a.." He trailed off when Atlanta smirked at him again; Neil's eyebrows shot up.

Meanwhile, Jay was trudging down the hallway towards the bathroom that three of the descendents happened to share between them. He rubbed his hands over his face with irritation; if Theresa kept wearing those damn nightgowns he was probably going to have to move out. A young male could only handle so much female skin, and Jay was sure that he was either going to melt down into a puddle of incoherent mumbling goo, or end up scooping Theresa into his arms and taking her away to do naughty things.

"The gods have condemned me," Jay cursed to himself, as he came to the bathroom door. Without a second of delay, Jay twisted the door knob and shoved the door open.

It happened in such a blur; he was met with the sight of a bare back, red hair tumbling like waves across the exposed shoulders. Theresa hadn't realized at first, but finally grasping what had happened, she twirled slightly to grab a towel, at the same time shrieking inarticulately at Jay to get the hell out and close the goddamn door. As she moved, Jay was met with another sight that caused his eyes to widen to roughly the size of dinner plates.

"I'm sorry! Oh god, I'm.." He become conscious of the fact he was standing there looking like a completely buffoon, and slammed his eyes shut, backing out of the bathroom. "Sorry!" Jay banged the door closed, Theresa's swearing becoming muffled. He released the door knob and thumped his forehead with the heel of his hand.

This was not turning out to be a very good day, not a good day AT ALL.

Except it kind of was.


	5. I Know Someone Who Loves You

So this is the moment that I've been waiting for in the show itself... C'MON, WRITERS. WRITE IN THEIR FIRST FREAKING KISS. Thank you to everybody who has reviewed, I really appreciate it and it makes me want to update faster! But I have some unpleasant news, ish. This will probably be the last update for about.. eight to ten days. I know that's a long time, but bear with me; spring vacation, baby!

I don't anything, and all that disclaimer stuff.

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05. I Know Someone Who Loves You

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"This. Its not everyday somebody rents me a sailboat for a night as a birthday gift."

"Well, you're welcome. It was the easiest thing I could think of anyways," Theresa replied, glancing at the young man beside her and smiling.

The two teens were seated side by side on the edge of the sailboat in the middle of the lake, legs dangling in between the metal bars of the side rails. Theresa let her polished toes skim across the cooling water, and exhale softly, leaning back with her hands out behind her. "So how did you become so.. obsessed with this sailing thing?"

"My dad," Jay answered. "He taught me basically everything in one weekend, and the next I was out there by myself. My mom didn't think it was such a great idea, I was like six at the time." He shrugged casually, chuckling under his breath at the look on Theresa's face.

"Six? I was learning to read about then, not learning how to man a sailboat by myself!" Theresa watched Jay get up off the floor of the sailboat, and heard him walk along the side. There was a comfortable quietness between the two as Theresa listened to Jay fiddle around with things behind her. In front of her, however, the sun was just beginning to set.

After a few moments of gliding her feet along the surface of the lake, Theresa heard and felt Jay plop down beside her again. She looked over at him, and smiled again; Jay was gazing out at the sun, his hands behind him like she had done. A warm, fuzzy sort of feeling crashed over Theresa like a gigantic wave and she almost released a little giggle.

"What do you think Cronus is doing at this exact moment?"

And with that very query, the comfortable, relaxing moment was suddenly gone between them. Theresa looked up from the lake surface at Jay, mouth hanging in utter disbelief.

"What is it with you?" Theresa asked, her voice rising a little. "Can you not enjoy a night out without worrying about anything? I thought this might lighten you up, cause you to see there's more things on this planet than Cronus, and more things to discuss other than capturing Cronus!"

Jay went red instantly. "Of course I can enjoy a night without worrying, it was just a question," He muttered, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "And I know there's more things on this planet than just Cronus, I'm not that thick."

"Well sometimes it certainly seems like it!"

Rolling his eyes, Jay turned his torso slightly to talk to her properly. "You guys think all I think about is Cronus, don't you?" He didn't wait for her answer, as the hesitant expression on Theresa's glowing features was enough. "Well I don't, but when I do its for a good reason! I want this thing over with," he ran his hand through his hair, "because the faster this is over with and we defeat him, the better I'll feel. I always worry about you getting injured."

There was silence, where the two teens just stared at each other. Theresa was the first to speak.

"You as in the group in general.. or you as in.. _me_." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jay stared at Theresa, and surprisingly he met her eyes with his without reddening. She herself was blushing slightly in the cheeks, still absentmindedly playing with the water. The sun was shining off her hair and if it was any more brighter, his retinas would probably be burnt through his skull.

When her pearly white teeth grasped her bottom lip and tugged nervously, Jay knew how he was going to answer. There was no turning back, it was too late even if Jay wanted to. It was like those green eyes had dragged him in, like reeling in a fish from this very lake.

"You. I don't want you getting hurt."

More silence. Theresa simply blinked at him. _Wonderful_, Jay thought stupidly, _I've completely turned her - oh_.

Soft, plush lips met his abruptly, and equally as soft hair brushed against his cheek. Theresa, his Theresa, was kissing him like he was the last man on earth, like he was the oxygen that she needed to survive. Brain cells started to move again, and Jay leaned into the kiss, responding willingly to her lips.

After much passionate pashing between the two that lasted several moments, and ultimately resulted in Theresa's shirt riding up her back and Jay's hair being entirely messed up, they pulled away for air. Blushes materialized on the faces of both, along with identical coy grins.

"Best birthday ever," Jay announced finally, his voice quiet as he tenderly danced his fingers along Theresa's bare shoulder, letting them glide down her smooth arm.

Theresa giggled under her breath, leaning forward and kissing the tip of Jay's nose, causing the boy's grin to widen even further.

"Are you still thinking about Cronus?"

"Of course not. I'm thinking we should do more of this kissing thing; you're fairly good at it."


	6. Regret, I Have None

I'm home and I hate it. Its cold here, and it sucks balls. Mexico was amazing, and I'm terrifically sad to be out of it, but writing this made me feel slightly better because c'mon, its Jay and Theresa. And really, what can be much better than that? I plan on making the next one probably the longest and with mucho angst, and most of the remaining "chapters" will have Jay and Theresa actually together, I'm thinking. Okay, here we go.

It's spicy and rated pretty T, and none of it is mine.

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06. Regret, I Have None

It just happened so fast.

_Jay had grabbed her roughly around the waist, slamming her against the wall, but doing it gently enough not to hurt. All of a sudden hands were everywhere and lips were meeting and tongues were tangling and the arousal that Theresa had buried earlier in the gym was resurfacing, taking hold and causing her to pull at Jay's shirt, which as he moved away briefly for breath she discarded somewhere randomly on the floor._

_His lips left her swollen ones, and made a quick path to where her slender neck met her shoulder. He nipped there, causing the young woman pinned against him and the wall to whimper a little, the type of reaction Jay had been searching for the entire time. _

_He was grinding against her slightly, and Theresa found herself presented with something that was very, very male. Time seemed to go too fast for the both of them, and before they knew it they were more aroused than ever, and Jay had his hands up Theresa's shirt. Her bra was unclasped, hanging loosely, and Jay's chest now had red marks from Theresa's nails raking around in a frenzy._

_When he rested his forehead against hers, breathing heavily against her mouth and their lips just a fingernail's width apart, Theresa felt her head clear enough to talk._

"_If this.. is too fast.."_

"_It's not," Jay panted, shaking his head. "I didn't want.." But Theresa shushed him simply with a finger against his lips, before moving her hand through his hair, ruffling the soft brown locks._

_"I love you. I want this. I want you. I want to feel you."_

_Pulling back, Jay looked down at the Greek descendent and felt his heart implode inside of him. "I.. I love you so much."_

_His large hands came down to rest of the back of her thighs, and he applied pressure. Willingly, Theresa wound her legs around his waist, and Jay leaned into her more, their eyes locked. Moving slowly, he backed Theresa away from the wall she had been trapped against, his destination her bed._

Now, with the early morning light shining through her thin curtains onto the bed, Theresa lay on her side, her head propped up by one bent arm. Her free hand was tracing circles and designs on Jay's forearm while he slept soundly beside her, the sheets pooled at their waists and their naked torsos exposed. Theresa didn't mind; it was comfortable.

Sighing, the redhead took one of Jay's hands in hers and linked their fingers, rough palm against smooth palm. Three months. Was it normal for a couple to engage in sexual activities three months into a relationship? She had no idea, but it just felt so right to her, so fitting. Like it was always supposed to happen.

And one can only go through so much sexual tension before they do something about it.

"Do you regret it?"

Jumping slightly, Theresa looked up from Jay's fingers to see him quietly watching her. The sleep hadn't quite left his eyes yet, which made her smile as she shook her head.

"Nope.. do you?"

Jay seemed to consider his answer before speaking. "No," He replied finally, still watching as her fingers knotted with his. "I'm not going to lie, last night was much needed after the week we've had, but I don't want you to think that just because we've done this.." He trailed off, searching for the right ending, the right thing he wanted to say.

"That we're going to do it again right away?" Theresa supplied for him, glancing up and smirking. "And why not? If I recall last night, you seemed to enjoy yourself."

Scowling at her teasing, Jay shrugged offhandedly. "Of course I did. But I don't want to put pressure on you or anything like that. It's only been - "

" - the best three months in the entire world," Theresa finished for him promptly, causing the young man beside her to laugh and nod in agreement. Theresa noticed his hesitancy still, and sighed, moving closer and nestling herself into Jay's warmth. His arm came around her and his hand found a relaxed position on her hip.

"If you want to go slow - "

"Jay, shut the hell up or I'm going to punch you in the face," Theresa said crossly, nuzzling her head into the area of his neck. "I wanted last night to happen. And it's not like we're going to go at it like _rabbits_, Jay. We'll take our time, yes, and we'll be careful. Stop worrying your cute ass over it. We're fine."

Jay smiled down at the top of her head, and then leaned down to kiss it. "Cute ass? Look who's talking."

They lay in silence together for several minutes, and just as Theresa began to doze off, pots and pans clanging downstairs rang out throughout the entire complex. Herry had gotten himself into the cupboards again, which almost always ended in either disaster or Herry shrieking for assistance.

"Do you want to go eat?" Jay asked lazily, his hand following the arch of her back and making Theresa shiver a little.

"Depends. What're you hungry for?"

Jay blinked and let out a single, shocked laugh, looking down at Theresa's expectant face. "My, my, we're a little needy, aren't we?"

Theresa rolled on top of him, the sheets and their limbs tangling together which elicited a slight moan from Jay. She smirked, an eyebrow cocking. "My, my.. a little excited, aren't we?" Her gaze went south for a split second before Jay grabbed her chin with one hand, sitting up as best he could with his one free elbow.

They moved at the same time, lips meeting and hands roaming and gasps forming in their mouths. It only lasted a few moments, however, as their was a sudden slam of a door from somewhere in the Brownstone.

"OH MY _GOD_.. JAY SPENT THE NIGHT IN THERESA'S ROOM!"


	7. Beautiful Death

Woo for an update. Angst-y and language, language, language. Not mine.

WARNING, AGAIN; usage of the **eff**-word. Don't whine, I've warned you.

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07. Beautiful Death

Her red convertible was the only car in the student parking lot, positioned directly underneath one of the lamp posts which shone down on the vehicle like a spot light. Maybe she had chosen to park there.

All Jay knew was that tonight, he would not be getting any shut eye. Thank heavens it was a Friday.

He was standing a far distance away from the car, hands stuffed deep in his jean pockets and a frown on his lips. When Jay had gotten to the lunch table during fourth period that day, he had been informed by Odie that for some unknown, mysterious reason, Theresa had been forced to leave school at around eleven. Coming home, however, the vagueness of the situation was cleared up instantly.

He had found Atlanta and Archie talking in hush tones in the kitchen, Atlanta's eyes reddened and her hair in chaos. Getting to the point, Jay had approached them on what happened, why Theresa wasn't there, if she was okay.. the response had floored him.

Sighing now, Jay stepped off the curb and began to walk across the parking lot to Theresa's car. As he neared, he noticed that her head was bowed and her hair had all fallen forwards, creating a sort of curtain around her face. She didn't look up as he came around the car and opened the passenger side door, shutting it once he had slipped into the seat.

"I heard," Jay whispered, staring at the screen of red hair.

No verbal response. Instead, the young woman lifted her head and tucked her hair behind her ears carefully.

Theresa still managed to look beautiful; her make up was smeared under her eyes, her long eyelashes were clumped together and darkened, there were long tracks of dried salt tears on her cheeks, her nose was slightly pink, and her bottom lip was trembling. Jay also took note of Theresa's shaky fingers fiddling around with her car keys.

He took a deep breath. "Theresa, give me the keys." Jay held his hand out to her, and she made the first sign of recognition and glanced at it.

Tightening her hand around her keys, Theresa shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but a soft hiccup escaped from it. "Heart attack," Theresa murmured faintly after a moment. "A fucking heart attack."

"Give me the keys," Jay repeated, trying to sound confident.

Theresa blinked, turning again but this time looking at Jay straight on. "You want my keys," She repeated, baffled now. A flash of something crossed her deep green eyes. Anger. "My father _died_ this morning, and you want my keys."

Seeing the infuriated expression Theresa had taken on, Jay tried to back track quickly. "I just don't want - "

"You don't want me to drive myself off a cliff," Theresa finished, her hand tightening so forcefully around her car keys that Jay noticed them digging into her palm.

"Theresa.."

"HERE ARE MY FUCKING KEYS, JAY." She threw open the driver's side door and escaped out, standing in the opening. Theresa swung her arm back briefly and then hurled the keys as far as she possibly could. "Go get them, Jay, so I don't drive myself to my DEATH!" She screamed at him, slamming the door behind her.

"You're so fucking STUPID!" Theresa kicked the driver's side wheel as hard as she could, repeatedly. "Everything is so FUCKING stupid. You, Cronus, this, school, _me_.. EVERYTHING. Stupid and fucked up and _stupid_ and unfair and I hate it. I hate YOU. I hate my _DAD_ for dying!"

Jay knew she would later regret shrieking all of this at the top of her lungs. He shot out of the car, briskly walking around to the side Theresa was on. Jay attempted to pull her into his arms, but Theresa fought; her hands formed fists and she punched and hit his chest with the underside of her hands vigorously.

"Theresa, stop it!"

"Get away from me," She wailed, pushing at his chest now. But Jay grasped her wrists and held fast, forcing them down by her side and pulling her face to face with him. Theresa's harsh, erratic breathing was fanning over his face, but her wide, deer-like eyes were avoiding his.

They stood like that for some time, before Jay felt Theresa's fists uncurl beneath his grip. Her fierce inhaling and exhaling turned to gasps for breath and tears swelled in her eyes and poured from them, reviving the path of tears that had previous ran down her face.

"I didn't.. I can't believe.. oh, God.. he's dead.. I didn't mean it.. I never.."

Jay tried not to smile, and released her wrists. She went to turn away in embarrassment, _guilt_, but Jay promptly folded her into his embrace. Theresa went stiff for a moment or two, before settling down into his chest, her head resting there. Again, the couple stood still and quiet together, Jay holding Theresa close the entire time.

"I'm sorry."

He almost hadn't heard it. Jay peeked down at his chest to see Theresa momentarily press her lips to his t-shirt. "I'm really sorry."

"Do you want me to find your keys?" He asked after another moment of silence between them. When she nodded, Jay reluctantly released her. It took a few minutes to find them; he was fairly surprised at how far away they had landed. Theresa was now leaning back on her car, arms folded tightly across her chest. Silently, he handed her the keys.

"Want to go home?"

A shake of the head, and a small sniffle. "I want you to hold me." Theresa's arms loosened. "I want you to hold me until this stops hurting so much."

"That might take a while, love."

The tiniest beginning of a smile. "Do you have time, then?"

"All the time in the world," Jay answered, placing a simple kiss in the middle of her forehead. "Forever, really."

He felt her take his hand with her tiny, clammy one. Something metal hit his palm, and Jay realized she had just given him the keys.

"I don't want to go back to the complex," Theresa started, moving away from the side of the car and making her way around it to the passenger seat. "Anywhere but there."

Looking down at the keys, Jay thought for a moment. "How about some ice cream, and then we'll take it from there?" He proposed, sliding into the seat next to her and inserting the key, starting the engine while Theresa pulled down the visor and inspected her smudged make up.

As Jay drove out of the student parking lot, Theresa finally replied.

"Take me anywhere."

* * *

I kind of needed to write this one, specifically; her anger is justified, trust me. I unfortunately know how Theresa would feel.

Next one should be soon!


	8. You’re So Good To Me

Quick update for the win. In response to a couple of questions I got messaged about, and a review; my dad passed away a year ago May. Onward, and I lied, this is the longest one so far. I don't own anything.

* * *

08. You're So Good To Me

"FIVE GOALS. FIVE _FREAKIN' _GOALS."

Jay jumped, almost dropping the textbook and bowl of cereal he was carefully balancing in his hands. The back door of the apartment complex had burst inward, and bodies spilled into the kitchen.

Odie and Archie were shirtless, Odie's scrawny upper body looking ridiculous next to Archie's torso. Their chests were decorated with body paint, the colours of New Olympia, and both were sporting foam fingers. Neil was wearing Atlanta's away jersey, and was carefully avoiding any contact what so ever with the paint on the other two boys. Herry had an unreasonably massive hat on the top of his head, and was effortlessly holding both girls under his arms like sacks of potatoes. Ah, the aftermath of field hockey.

Screwing up her face in discomfort, Atlanta wiggled a little. "Herry, you can let us down now."

He complied, and smoothly plopped both girls down on their feet. As the girls rolled their sore muscles out and Jay put down his book and bowl, Herry exploded into explanation.

"They won!" He shouted in glee, as Odie and Archie both gave wild-like cheers. "It was totally awesome too, I mean we slaughtered them! You should've seen Atlanta _move_! And Theresa _scoring_!" He pointed over at Theresa, who was looking at Jay with a curious expression on her face; Herry failed to notice the silent communication between the two of them. "Anyways, it was amazing! BEST GAME EVER!"

As Herry finished shouting himself into exhaustion, Neil meticulously peeled off the jersey he had been wearing, holding it out with one finger and eyeing the garment. "Yes, it was a fabulous game. Though how do you girls manage to not get completely filthy out there?"

"Shut up, Neil," Archie said, rolling his eyes at the blonde. "Anyways, they're in the semi-finals! We have to celebrate, where's Athena?"

"Went grocery shopping or something," Jay replied briefly. "But I just ordered pizza, so.."

This sent most of the group into loud applause, and Herry actually clapped Jay on the shoulder in thanks. Archie mentioned something about Odie taping the game, and wanting to see the good parts. Herry agreed, and with a tired look towards Theresa, Atlanta followed them to see as well. Theresa pulled her hair out of the ponytail that was mandatory for her to wear, turning to Jay. "So," She began, but Neil stopped her from going further.

"Oh good _heavens_, you two are going to be all mushy and lovely and couple-y, aren't you?" He wailed. "I'm leaving. I'm sure you're going to want to congratulate Theresa." He gave Jay a disgusted look before floating off.

Jay watched Neil disappear, grinning, and then turned to look at Theresa. To his surprise, she was frowning at him.

"Why didn't you come?" Theresa asked quietly, fiddling with the elastic in her hand.

"I meant to, I really did," Jay answered honestly, getting up from the table. "But I had to finish that stupid biology exam I was whining about last night, remember?"

Theresa's face softened, as she did in fact remember. "Oh, right. How'd it go?"

"Fine, I hope." Jay crossed the kitchen floor and bent down, kissing Theresa lightly on the lips for a few moments, which completely relaxed the young woman. Relaxed her right into Jay's arms, to his delight. "So five goals, huh?" Jay asked, after they had separated from kissing.

She was quick to blush, and shake her head. "I only got three of the five. And Atlanta assisted in two of those, so really - "

" - you're just amazing," Jay finished, arching an eyebrow and laughing at the look Theresa gave him. He bent down again and kissed the tip of her nose. He was always kissing her forehead, or her nose, or her cheeks, and occasionally when they parted for classes he'd grab her hand and kiss Theresa's knuckles. It was one of Jay's cutest quirks, though he hated when she used the word 'cutest'.

"Are you coming to the semi-finals?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Jay countered, smiling at Theresa. "Seriously. Exam, Cronus, Gods, terminal illness.. nothing is keeping me back from seeing that game," He paused. "And then when you win that, I'll be at the championship cheering on my beautiful girlfriend as she kicks ass. Maybe I'll be shirtless like Odie and Archie with body paint.. and a huge foam finger and a sign!"

Theresa rose both eyebrows, giggling. "A sign?" She echoed, before shaking her head and giving him a quick peck. "Just you. I just want you there. Doesn't matter in what state.. though if you're shirtless, I may have trouble focusing."

Jason's descendent was quiet for a moment, before he smirked broadly, shuffling Theresa backwards and pinning her against the counter, causing her to squeak in surprise. "Is that so? I'm thinking we should go celebrate, by ourselves, you and me, doesn't matter what room, and maybe you can keep on this lovely little skirt thing you're wearing.." His fingers danced along her thigh, underneath the material of her field hockey uniform.

"Jay!" Theresa whacked her boyfriend lightly in the chest, trying to squirm out of his tight grasp, despite how she seemed to nicely fit there. "You are so lucky I'm in a good mood, you little _perv_," The redhead scowled.

Laughing, he moved his hand from underneath her skirt. "Fine, you evil temptress." Jay traced her jaw line with his index finger, his other hand lazily following her spine and causing her to arch towards him slightly. "I'll hold off for now. But you owe me." He released Theresa and his hands moved completely off of her body, which resulted in her deflating slightly, having enjoyed the feeling of his fingertips crossing flesh.

"I'm going to go check out these three goals you managed to get it." Jay wiggled his eyebrows, turning towards the doorway of the kitchen out to the hallway. "You coming?"

"Nah, I was there. I scored them. You go." Theresa lightly booted him in the backside, receiving an affronted yet amused backwards glance. He left, and Theresa crossed the room to fall into the seat Jay had been occupying before the group had burst back into the Brownstone.

She reached out and lifted up the textbook Jay had been reading, inspecting the cover. But as Theresa randomly flipped through the book unenthusiastically, something fell out of it onto her lap. Placing the textbook back on the table, she picked up what looked like a magazine out of a newspaper, with dog-tagged pages.

A slow smile came to Theresa's lips while she flicked through the magazine. Jewelry, and every so often a necklace or bracelet would be circled in highlighter; her birthday was three weeks away. Shaking her head and laughing under her breath to herself, Theresa stuffed the magazine back into Jay's textbook, relaxing back in the chair and grabbing her boyfriend's forgotten cereal.

"Oh, Jay. What _am_ I going to do with you.."


	9. You, You, You

Again with the quick update. I'm on a roll. I think I'm going to finish this at ten.. so one more. I think. _Maybe_.

Nothing is mine, yada yada yada.

* * *

09. You, You, You

Jay rolled his shoulders, glancing into the mirror in the front hallway discreetly. This was _stupid_. He was only going to this thing because Theresa begged him at least forty different times a day and had begun to use her puppy-dog eyes, which no man on the face of the earth, God or not, could resist.

So now he found himself standing with Archie and Herry, awkwardly trying to adjust his red tie without strangling himself and without having it look completely lopsided.

"Who invented these things?" Herry questioned, ruffling up his hair and then glancing into the mirror.

There was a snort from Archie. "Obviously not a man, that's for sure. I'm only going for Atlanta, who's only going for Theresa." He glanced at the other two. "Who wants to ditch after ten minutes?"

"I can't," Jay muttered unhappily. "Theresa would chop me up." He leaned off the wall when he heard footsteps approaching the stairs, but it was only Neil and Odie, the latter looking just as uncomfortable as the rest of them but the former looking as if Christmas, New Years and his birthday were now on the same day.

"Isn't this great!" Neil exclaimed, bounding down the stairs and immediately heading for Archie. The purple haired teen tried to side-step, but Neil grabbed hold of his matching purple tie and tweaked it a bit. "Who knew you could clean up so well! Straight out of Vogue, I swear."

"Neil, this is embarrassing enough," Herry grumbled. "Stop making it worse."

"Stop making what worse?" Heels were clicking down the stairs, and the five boys turned to see Theresa coming down in a deep emerald green dress that fluttered just below her knees, with a scoop neck. Her hair was twisted up into a half ponytail, with a few strands framing her face, which was confidently shining in excitement. She had simple make-up on, with simple studs and the diamond necklace Jay had ended up buying for her birthday.

Speaking of Jay, their leader had an expression on his face appropriate of being clubbed over the head by a giant. Odie leaned over a little, eyeing Jay suspiciously before he very carefully prodded the other boy in the side of the head.

"Yup," Odie confirmed. "Out cold."

Theresa floated over to Jay, leaning up on her strappy heels to place a quick peck on his cheek. "Am I correct in assuming you five have been whining like little babies about this?"

"No man really wants to attend _Spring Fling_," Herry informed her, stressing the last two words as if it was a virus similar to SARS. "There's a book, Theresa, listing events guys have to attend but they really, _really _don't want to."

Archie nodded vigorously in agreement. "For example; any sort of dance like Spring Fling, their future mother in law's 50th birthday, the opera.."

"Perhaps even their own wedding, varying on what type of family the bride ends up coming from," Herry finished, half-jokingly.

Laughing, Theresa placed her hands delicately on her hips. "Oh, _really_. I can't wait to see the women you two marry," She scowled at them.

"Speaking of Archie's future bride," Odie muttered under his breath, motioning with his head at the staircase as Atlanta came stumbling down in it; heels were obviously not her thing. Archie swung around and gave Odie such a murderous glare that the smaller teen slipped in behind Herry.

"Can't I wear sneakers?" Atlanta was complaining as she crossed the foyer, adjusting her lavender purple dress. She stopped playing with the straps of the dress and looked up at Archie, breaking out into a huge grin. "Well, will you look at that! We're matching!"

Herry gave Archie a slight shove, sending him staggering up to Atlanta. "Uh, yeah." He nodded, holding out his hand with a meek smile. "You look really amazing, b-beautiful actually. Can we go now?"

Atlanta just blinked at him, before she went scarlet and took his hand. "Of course." She followed Archie out of the house, giving Theresa a little giggle and a thumbs up. Neil whisked Herry and Odie out after them with a wave of his hands, babbling about how they MUST be on their best behavior and pretend _not _to be males.

Theresa glanced at Jay and went to follow them, but unexpectedly he came back to the real world and blurted out, "You are not going out in that!", pointing at her immediately.

"Go change. _Now_."

"Change?" Theresa tilted her head. "Why on earth would I change, I thought this looked good."

"It does! Too good, in fact!" Jay cried, grabbing her by the shoulders and directing her back towards the steps.

"Jay, you're being unreasonable." Theresa grabbed his hands from her shoulders and turned herself around, looking amusedly up at Jay. "I am not going to change, I'm going to Spring Fling with you."

He began to sputter in protest, but Theresa carried on. "Where I will ONLY dance with you, and where the only eyes on me will be these brown ones." She wiggled her index finger between Jay's eyes, causing him to go cross-eyed. "Now can we please, pretty please, just GO already?"

Jay looked her up and down, before he sighed, shoulders sagging and an adorable pout forming on his lips. "Why do I have to have such a gorgeous girlfriend?" He asked to the ceiling.

"Gorgeous?" Theresa echoed, cocking an eyebrow and smiling smugly, just as there was a honk from Herry's truck. "C'mon, you." She leaned up and kissed him for a moment before pulling away and leading him towards the open door, much to his disappointment as the expression on his face clearly stated how much he'd rather just make out with her than go to Spring Fling.

"Boy, do you ever owe me," Jay muttered, as he was pulled through the doorway and closed the door behind him, taking a moment to look at the wonderful backside view he found himself presented with. "Ah, I know what will be sufficent enough.."

"_Behave_."


	10. No Guts, No Glory

I lied. Two more, end of story. Literally. This one is sort of a whole day.. chopped up. Also, this might be the longest one, again with the lying. I don't own Class of the Titans. Wish I owned Jay though, have I mentioned that?

* * *

10. No Guts, No Glory

"It's not your fault it gets this hard," Atlanta whispered from across the bed, staring decisively at Jay.

Archie was standing behind her, resting his hands on the back of her chair and leaning forward a little. "She's right, man. This isn't your fault."

"I should've been there." Jay's voice was hollow, lacking any sort of emotion.

Herry scoffed, looking up from the floor from his seated position a little ways from the bed. "Do you really think you could've changed the outcome?" He too was leaning forward, but had his elbows resting on his knees, hands hanging loosely. Odie was perched on the arm of the chair, Neil lingering behind with his arms folded over his chest.

"What even happened?" Jay croaked out, shifting a little and reaching out to take Theresa's hand in both of his.

She was lying almost peacefully on the make-shift bed in Persephone's room, her red hair fanned out on the pillow and her skin as pale as the moon that shone through the nearby window. The only sign of any trouble was a tiny scorch mark, just below her breast bone, right through her red tank top revealing skin.

Atlanta sighed shakily, and Archie's hand came down to rest on her shoulder, giving it an reassuring squeeze. "Cronus kept telling her that her powers were weak," Atlanta began, her eyes on the other girl's face, "and you know Theresa, she doesn't take lightly to criticism. He kept saying she was worthless, we were all worthless and that the group would crumble at the end, underneath your guidance," her eyes flew up to Jay's for a moment, "and that broke any sort of.. self control Theresa had.."

"All of a sudden things in the temple were just.. _flying _at Cronus." Neil was speaking now, for the first time since they had arrived back. "It was freaky, it was like she was pulsing, physically."

"Almost as if electricity was running through her," Odie murmured, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Anyways," Atlanta continued, glancing at the others. "Cronus wasn't about to let Theresa's powers get the best of him.. I don't remember what he said, something in Greek, but it was like this green flash of light and it just.. it just.."

"It caught her right in the chest, making that mark, I guess," Archie picked up the story for Atlanta, who had bowed her head now, burying her face in her hands. "She just.. flew through the air with her arms out like some sort of puppet on a string, and her eyes were so - "

"STOP."

Everybody jumped, their eyes flying towards Jay, who had thrown himself out of his chair, pressing his hands to his head. "Just stop! I can't listen to this.."

"Jay, she's going to be fine. Chiron said so.." Atlanta had started to rise from her chair, but Archie's hand on her shoulder tightened, and he simply shook his head.

"Leave him," Archie whispered to her, watching their friend walk himself right out of the room. "Chiron didn't say when she'd wake up, you know."

Herry stood up, knocking Odie off the arm of the chair. "Archie.. shut up, will you? Theresa's going to wake up and then she'll tease us about how much we worried."

As Odie fell into the chair Herry had been in, Herry moved over to the one Jay had occupied.

"He'll probably just go sailing. _Shocker_."

This wasn't true, though. Jay had immediately gone to the Brownstone, thoughts and emotions raging throughout his body. The only place that seemed fitting was the roof, and hours after he had stormed out of Persephone's he found himself still seated against one of the low walls on the roof terrace.

He knew he should've gone back a while ago, and he knew he would have to face the wrath of not only Atlanta, but probably Archie, Herry, Odie and maybe even Neil. But the thought of sitting there beside Theresa, and knowing that she was in a sort of coma type thing.. he couldn't do it. He couldn't sit there without wanting to destroy the nearest thing.

_I wished Cronus would show his ugly self right here and now_, Jay thought irritably, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the wall gently.

From ahead him, Jay heard the door leading up onto the terrace open. It had to be Archie. Or perhaps Herry. Even though Hercules's descendent wasn't the brightest, he was strangely gifted with giving advice.

But the steps were too light against the sandstone to be Herry's. It had to be Archie. Atlanta would not have even considered approaching Jay, and was probably glued to his girlfriend's side. Again, a pang of guilt struck Jay; _he should be there_. Odie and Neil didn't have any sort of sense how to comfort someone, especially the latter of the two. Not that Jay necessarily wanted consoling. He wanted to kill Cronus, or rather needed to do.

"Go away," Jay told the figure, not baring to open his eyes and come upon the face of a gravely disappointed Archie. But as the footsteps stopped in front of Jay, he was assaulted with a familiar smell. Lavender.

He hesitantly opened his eyes to find Theresa standing above him, her head tilted curiously. A loose pair of sweats hung on her hips, and she had replaced her burnt tank top with a plain blue t-shirt, one that Jay knew was his. A heavy blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and she was holding it with one hand in the middle of her chest.

"They said you left." She didn't sound let down, or angry. Theresa was simply speaking. Simply standing there, alive and awake and conscious and talking.

"Because I thought you were gone for sure."

"So you left?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't've left."

Jay blinked, frowning. "So what, because I left you're mad?"

"No," Theresa began slowly, a crease appearing in between her eyebrows. "Any other girl would probably be mad.. but you left when I was hoping to wake up to see you."

His shoulders sagged, and honest to goodness shame appeared across his face. Jay ran a hand through his hair, exhaling noisily. "I was going to break something if I didn't get out of there."

"I figured." Theresa sunk down next to Jay, leaning against the low wall. She adjusted the blanket around herself, holding it tighter.

Jay shook his head, looking down at her noticeably serene face. "You should go inside."

"I'm fine here. With you."

He didn't put his arm around her like normal, nor did she lean into his body, putting her head on his shoulder. They merely sat there, letting the night sky above them catch their full attention. Theresa didn't need an apology, they just understood eachother. They understood eachother more than the others probably realized, despite their teasing.

Only when his girlfriend's head finally did dropped heavily onto his shoulder, did Jay look back down. Theresa's eyes were closed, her lips parted just slightly and her breathe steady as she slept on.

He would bring her in eventually. But for now, Jay would just simply bask in the feeling of knowing she was there.

For now.


	11. The Beginning of Something

Last chapter. Some of you may weep, but fear not! I have things in the works, including another Jay/Theresa one-shot story type thing. Except all about kisses. Thank you so so so so so much for the numerous reviews, I honestly didn't expect that many when I first posted chapter one. _**THANK YOU**_!

Nothing is mine, as always.

* * *

11. The Beginning of Something

Hera clasped her hands in front of her, staring at each individual teenager and recounting the numerous things they had gone through to be in this very exact moment. She could remember the near-deaths, the laughter and to her surprise, the flirting. The relationships that had blossomed because of this and the fears and doubts each of them had brought upon themselves during the course of the journey.

"Is it _really _over?" Archie asked at last, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin on top of them. "There's been times when we thought it was but.."

".. but he came back for another _long _vacation?" Odie offered.

Archie nodded in approval, motioning to the boy. "What he said."

Hera frowned; it was natural for them to assume that this was far from over.. but yet this time it seemed legitimate. "I'm not sure, Archie." The elder looked from the purple haired young man to the young woman directly across the table from him.

"Theresa," Hera started, causing the redhead to glance up in surprise. "How do you.. feel?"

"How do I feel?" Theresa echoed, as six sets of eyes fell upon her, including the concerned brown ones from Jay. He was sitting beside her, arms folded across his chest. "I feel.. fine. Better than fine, actually. I feel like it _is _over."

Jay's shoulders seemed to tense up. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I am," Theresa stated strongly, looking up at Hera instead of her boyfriend. "Unless my.. senses have suddenly left me, or are deceiving me.. I think this is it."

With that, everybody but Jay seemed to relax. Archie and Atlanta exchanged quick, excited smiles while Neil let out a breath of relief, a breath he had probably been subconsciously holding from the beginning. Odie and Herry just grinned, both looking comforted by Theresa's words.

"You all have some decisions to make," Hera reminded them, even though in the back of each teenager's mind lurked those so-called decisions. "Staying or going."

They began to rise, Atlanta's hand slipping into Archie's as they got up. Herry was quick to scoop up Neil from his perched position on the back of one of the couches. Shrieking in alarm, Neil was shoved underneath Herry's arm like a sack of nothing.

"C'mon, Neil!" Herry exclaimed enthusiastically, wiggling the boy around. "It's time to celebrate! With food and partying and more food!"

"What if I break out due to the excessive food you're plotting!"

As Hera left the atrium, Odie peeked across the table at the opposite couch. Theresa was just straightening up but Jay continued to sit rigid.

"Go ahead," He muttered to the two of them.

Odie shrugged and looked at Theresa but his shoulders slumped slightly when he saw that there was zero chance of Theresa leaving just yet.

"Well, I guess I'll see you two later then," Odie muttered, stealthily escaping across the floor after the rest of them.

Theresa mimicked Jay, crossing her arms over her chest. She surveyed him in silence, standing above him. Jay was horrific with explaining or revealing emotions and tended to hide things incredibly well from her and the rest of the world. Even with her heightened senses she never caught on if he was angry or upset.

If she had to describe Jay's face and overall nature at that moment, she would use one word; pokerfaced.

"Did you plan on talking to Hera or something?" Theresa ultimately asked, tapping her fingers on her forearms.

"No." Jay shook his head and at last looked up at Theresa. "I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about how this seems too good to be true? Thinking about how Cronus will obviously get out again? Thinking about how we're all idiots to think that this thing is truly and finally over and done with?"

Jay stared at her for a moment before he averted his gaze. No response, which automatically meant that yes, he had been thinking of at least one of those. Theresa assumed all three.

"In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure this is over either! But for now, it is." Her arms loosened and hung by her side. "So get up and stop being cranky."

Jay barely managed a smile. He glanced up at her, before he leaned off the couch and started to get up. "What if it isn't over?"

"Jay, there are probably a billion 'what if' questions you could probably think up in this situation," Theresa stated boredly, as if she was talking to a four year old toddler. "And I can bet you that for each of those billion questions, there's a billion 'I don't know' answers. Because we _don't_ know."

"But we're going to get so excited and let ourselves go and then he'll come back, I know it. We'll be off-guard - "

"Shut up." She leaned up and kissed Jay hard on the mouth, catching _him_ off-guard.

After a few moments, Jay pulled away slowly, away enough to talk but remain close to her, close enough to smell the lavender and the peachy scent of her shampoo. Theresa's eyes opened and she was smugly pleased to see Jay smiling like a goof.

"I hate it when you do that. Makes me feel like everythings going to actually be okay."

"Maybe because it is?" Theresa proposed, laughing as she thrust her hand out for Jay to take.

With their fingers intertwined and their thoughts and dreams bounding forward, the couple left the atrium. Their lives weren't going to stop and wait for them to catch up, catch up with the numerous months and moments and opportunities they had lost.

You simply move on. The past is the past.

You grow up.


End file.
